‘I’m upset’… Murat Gassiev responds to Derek Chisora’s challenge and opens up about WBA title situation

EXCLUSIVE: Murat Gassiev has given his take on a potential clash with Derek Chisora.

The WBA world heavyweight champion certainly isn’t backing down from a showdown against the Brit.

Murat Gassiev accepts Derek Chisora’s challenge

Earlier this week, Derek Chisora called out Murat Gassiev at an IBA press conference, with the fan favourite announcing he’s set to fight for the promotion in December, with ‘Iron’ being the preferred opponent.

While Gassiev wants his opportunity to take on the rest of the champions in the division, he’s open to sharing the ring with Chisora.

During an exclusive interview with Sporf, the 32-year-old laughed: “Derek, always Derek, Derek, Derek. Derek is a great fighter and my friend. Right now, he’s not in the WBA rankings, but everything changes fast. If this fight is interesting for me, my team, and the boxing fans, why not? We can make this fight. But going forward, we need to fight in unifications.”

Murat Gassiev opens up about WBA situation

After winning the WBA regular belt against Kubrat Pulev, Gassiev was later recognised as the sole champion of the sanctioning body after Oleksandr Usyk vacated his championships.

The powerhouse then defended that strap against Peter Kadiru. However, it has now been announced that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will fight for the WBA super heavyweight belt, in a move that hasn’t gone down brilliantly with fans, who view Gassiev as the rightful champion.

Consequently, his team have launched an appeal.

When asked for an update on the situation, the popular boxer replied: “Right now, I don’t have any news from the WBA. I woke up and found out the news that ‘AJ’ and Fury are fighting for the super title. I’m not angry, but I’m upset. At the press conference, I didn’t see the WBA title, just the Ring Magazine belt. I don’t know what’s next or what’s happened. I think we need one or two weeks to fix this situation.”

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